Florence Car Rental Guide
This page gives you information concerning car rental in Florence. We seek to present an overview of the traffic regulations and to provide you with useful hints for safe driving and renting a car in Florence.
Car Rental Tips
Driving Restrictions
The minimum age of a driver is 18 years. Children 4-12 years of age must use special restraints. The use of seatbelts is compulsory for all passengers. The legal blood alcohol limit is 0.8‰.
Driving is on the right. Headlights are required from half an hour after sunset to half an hour before sunrise as well as under bridges and in tunnels. Foglights may only be used in case of poor visibility.
It is illegal to use a mobile phone unless you have a hands-free system or speakers for your phone.
The police are authorised to remove your driving license and may collect fines on the spot. In case of a foreign-registered vehicle, the police can collect ¼ of the maximum fine on the spot. To avoid car thefts, the police are increasingly subjecting the foreign-registered vehicles to checks. The driver of the vehicle must then present the documents of the vehicle as well as their personal identification documents. If it is a borrowed vehicle, a written permission from the owner has to be included.
Generally, cars are parked on the right side of the road. In a Blue Zone (Zona Disco), you can only park for a limited period of time and have to obtain a parking disc for this. There are Green Zones (Zona Verde) in some cities, where parking is forbidden from 8 am to 9.30 am and from 2.30 pm to 4 pm on weekdays.
In Florence, no vehicles are allowed in the city centre from 7.30 am to 6.30 pm. Visitors entering the centre during those hours may only stop for loading or unloading and then have to park outside the centre.
Speed limits:
| Area | Limit |
| Expressways | 110 or 130 KM/H |
| Outside the City | 90 KM/H |
| In the City | 50 KM/H |
Emergency Numbers in Italy
Police: 112
Ambulance: 113
Fire: 115
Road Tolls
Tolls are charged on the motorways (autostrada): tickets are obtained when entering the motorway and paid when exiting. Tolls can be paid in cash or with a Viacard. Viacards are accepted on all routes except the A18 and A20. In case of automatic barriers, the card must be inserted into a slot on the controlling machine.
Some useful expressions for tourists travelling in Italy
Car - automobile
Car rental – affitto di automobile
Road – una strada
About Florence
With its culture and history, its striking buildings, impressive galleries and old churches, Florence is one of Italy’s most glorious cities. Having been commanded for centuries by the Medicis, the city is greatly influenced by the grandeur of the Renaissance. Florence still reminds one of the late-medieval centre that contributed much to the cultural and political development of Europe.
Why not rent a car and enjoy the best way to explore the city?
Area: 3,514 sq km
Population: 374,500
Country: Italy
Time Zone: GMT/UTC +1 (Central European Time)
Telephone Area Code: 055
Monetary unit: Euro
